Carrot guru returns with advice on marketing

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 24, 11 November 1986, Page 6

Carrot guru returns with advice on marketing

Carrot guru and president of the Ohakune Growers Association, Peter Hammond, returned last month from a three week trip to England. Basically he was there on his own business but was also interested in looking at the differences between New Zealand's market gardening and that of England. "Over there the growers and marketers cooperate to grow what's required for the EEC," he said. "They programme amongst themselves to avoid oversupply." "Whereas over here we tend to produce the product, put it on the floor and hope the consumer wants it." But he said that there were lots of subsidies in England,

with growers being paid not to produce certain vegetables and local bodies set up to administer all the various regulations. "And New Zealand really is very efficient, even when compared with a country like England which has a much wider base of people to work on and the backing of the EEC." But he said there would be nothing wrong in knocking off some of our rougher edges and cooperating to produce a better product. New Zealand needs some marketing expertise in what the consumer wants to buy. "I don't believe in too many regulations, but when they are there to protect security of investments and provide for professionally controlled marketing of a product 1 don't see anything wrong with them — but not to England's extent," he said.